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Kate Sanderson was trapped in a bushfire during an ultra marathon in 2011.
She suffered burns over 60% of her body, lost half of her left foot and had some fingers fused together.
She says she underwent traditional skin grafts to treat her injuries.
“Every time they take it, you’re just raw red for days and they can’t harvest it again for, I think, 3 weeks and take it all back, so yeah, it’s absolutely uncomfortable. There is no other option though. Medical professionals are trying to save your life, so this is the only option there is.
Today, reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr. Heather Cleland says she hopes to revolutionize the way burns are treated.
“This development is, I suppose, what you call a holy grail in burn surgery. People have been trying, and we have been part of this effort for many years, to bioengineer a skin substitute that will work as effectively as or It may be better than taking the patient’s own skin grafts. It really took over 50 years.
Researchers at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne say that by taking a small sample of a person’s intact skin and culturing these cells in an incubator, these cells are then infused into a hydrogel sheet and grafted onto the skin .
Using the patient’s own cells reduces the risk of rejection associated with the use of donated skin.
The team is conducting a clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of its artificial skin on people with severe burns covering at least 20% of their body.
Dr. Cleland says these clinical trials have shown promising signs for the future of burn treatment.
“We have treated two patients so far and although the clinical trial we are conducting is in its early stages, we have been very impressed with the real-life results in patients with severe burns. “
The development of technical skin began in the 1970s.
These earlier iterations used only the epidermis – the outer layer of skin – and were used in conjunction with traditional skin grafts.
And even though medical advancements have come a long way, there is still work to be done.
Shiva Akbarzadeh of the Alfred Skin Bioengineering Lab says that while the initial results of the trial are positive, researchers are working to improve on some limitations.
“It’s still missing melanocytes, so no pigmentation at the moment, and there are also no sweat glands and hair follicles. So while it functions like a skin, a native skin graft in terms wound closure, further research should be conducted.”
Researchers will now expand the trial across the country.
